


Nap Quest

by wanderingjedihistorian (RangerJedi67)



Series: Playing in the Soft Wars Sandbox [16]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Banter, Cody just wants a karking office cot and to nap in peace, Cody's a bit of a workaholic, Fluff and Family Feels, Humor, Neither will the Medics, Shebse gonna shebse, Star Wars AU - Soft Wars, The other Shebse Will Not Have It, background Cody/Obi-Wan but its not the focus, it's always Midday on Florrum, so many shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:15:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27966686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RangerJedi67/pseuds/wanderingjedihistorian
Summary: Cody's brothers and the medics confiscated his office cot. If he wants a nap without going back to his apartment, he's going to have to get creative.
Series: Playing in the Soft Wars Sandbox [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1725601
Comments: 84
Kudos: 199
Collections: Good Things Happen Bingo, Open Source Soft Wars





	1. A Cot and a Sweater

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Project0506](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Project0506/gifts), [evilkillerpoptarts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/evilkillerpoptarts/gifts).



> This is going to be a mix of silly and semi-serious.
> 
> Thus begins Cody's Nap Quest, part The Office Cot cycle, pt 1 of the The Sad Apartment Saga
> 
> Also fills the "Hinjinks" square for Good Things Happen Bingo.

CWCWCWCWCWCW  
No one could ever say that the clones weren’t efficient. The new government administrative building had a light rail stop inside. No need to add to the amount of time it took to get to the office each morning by making anyone walk from a rail stop to the building. It was both convenient and efficient for everyone who used the light rail. It was especially nice in inclement weather. Very few wanted to spend excess time outside during a Concord Dawn winter.

Cody didn’t have to worry about the light rail. He had an apartment near enough to the admin complex that he didn’t have to use public transport to get there. On the one hand that was nice. On the other, he often worked late and the prospect of walking all the way home after was _tiring_ some days _._ For the first few months after they settled on Concord Dawn, he hadn’t even bothered with an apartment at all. He just slept on a cot in his office. Rex was the first to figure it out, but _Ponds_ threw the biggest fit, which he supposed he should have expected. Rex looked worried and disappointed. Ponds looked angry. Wolffe told him not to be an idiot. But despite their ire, it was Bly’s logical words that hurt the most.

_You’re our Alor. Everyone is looking to **you**. If you don’t show that you’re settling in and starting a new life, others won’t either. You have to lead by example, just as you always have._

The implication that others might follow his bad example was all the motivation he needed to let himself be talked into an apartment near his office. It was home...technically. It still didn’t _feel_ like home but at least he had it.

He also did _not_ have a cot in his office anymore. His squadmates, the 212th medics, Rex’s medic, Waxer, Boil, and Wooley had _all_ participated in removing the cot from his office. Spite, Bore and Kix were also all incredibly clear that he was not allowed to sleep in his office anymore. He had attempted to remind them all that _he_ was the one in charge. The look he had gotten from all three medics said, very clearly, “it’s funny that you think so.”

As he sat slumped tiredly at his desk, he lamented how unreasonable his brothers were. It had been a long tenday and he was _exhausted_. If he wanted a nap, he had to walk all the way to his apartment first. If he still had the cot, he could have been napping within just a few minutes and not had to walk back to the office after he woke back up. It would have been significantly more efficient. 

He’d have to figure out something.

Attempt 1: A Comfy Sweater

Cody hadn’t slept a night through in over a tenday. A bad storm had done damage to a large complex of building projects in the countryside and washed out parts of the rail line expansion that was in progress. Between helping coordinate between departments to get everything fixed, reshuffling already scheduled plans, covering for those diverted to repair efforts and the fact that it demonstrated the need for some sort of emergency or disaster relief department, no one on his council had slept much. It seemed like everything that was fixed, and every step forward resulted in an emergency or something else went wrong. It had been a mess, but the worst was finally over.

It was barely after midday, but he was exhausted, and his apartment seemed _so far away._ There was a small meeting table in his office. A ridiculous but _warm_ and comfortable sweater that Wolffe had knitted was draped over the back of one of the chairs. He didn’t have his cot anymore, but the sweater would be a decent enough pillow for a short nap. Really, he just needed to rest his eyes for a bit, and he’d be fine.

He got up and grabbed the sweater. He could use it as a pillow and just put his head down on his desk. _Or._ He _could_ just curl up under his desk. His office door was locked. No one would see him. He’d slept in worse places during the war.

It was just going to be a short nap; he had a meeting in two hours. It would be fine.

It was not fine. He overslept and missed the meeting, which brought the rest of the Shebse looking for him. Needless to say, they were _not pleased._ They didn’t even let him get up from the floor before the lecture started.

“You have an apartment, Kote. I know you do. I picked it for you when you couldn’t bother,” Ponds said in irritation.

“It’s been a long few weeks,” Cody replied tiredly as he stood.

“We know,” Rex said quietly, resting a hand on his ori’vod’s shoulder. “But this isn’t good, Cody, and you know it.”

“I needed rest but didn’t want to take the time to go back to my apartment with more meetings yet today,” Cody countered.

“So, you should have rescheduled so you could get some karking sleep, you di’kut,” Ponds snapped.

“Everyone’s been stretched thin this past tenday. No one would have been upset about taking the afternoon off,” Bly pointed out.

“You’re no good to any of us if you run yourself into the ground, _Alor,_ ” Wolffe snarled.

It was the most spiteful tone Cody had ever heard from Wolffe and that said _a lot._ Never before had the word sounded so much like _judgment_ from one of his brothers. The tone was terribly similar to the one Fox always used when he threw the title in Cody’s face. He hated it.

“That’s what I’m trying _not_ to do!” Cody fired back.

“This is going to get us nowhere,” Bly cut in. “Cody, you need a break. Everyone who has worked a lot on this crisis needs a break.”

Cody sighed. Bly always had to be the reasonable, logical one.

“Technically, I suppose I can declare a day off…”

“Yes. Yes, you can,” Rex agreed, squeezing his shoulder. “Sounds like a great idea.”  
  


Nap attempt #1: Mixed success

Positive: Nap achieved

Negative: Caught by other Shebse who were Very Displeased

CWCWCWCWCWCW


	2. Further Attempts and an Intervention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody makes a few more attempts, but nothing goes as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cody continues to prove he learned many of the wrong lessons from Obi-Wan...(ie of course I can do All Of The Things All At Once). Fortunately, he has a large number of people who Will Not Have It.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Attempt 2: Camping Bed

After the sweater incident, Cody made a point of spending more time at his apartment for a few weeks. Then came the Council suggestion of hiring people for positions that the Vode didn’t have anyone knowledgeable enough for or qualified for. That led to more long days and argument filled meetings as they argued about what positions to focus on first. Once they finally settled on a list, Cody declared a two-day break for everyone. The idea of two days in his apartment didn’t appeal, so he made the decision to go camping. He still had his bedroll and since it was only for two days, he thought that would be sufficient. He stopped at the supply shop for other things he needed and spied a potential two-fold solution. A folding camping bed. It was _different_ than the military issue cot that his brothers and the medics had confiscated, so he would argue their ban didn’t apply. He decided it would be better than sleeping on the ground for his trip and it would be easy enough to store in the closet in his office. It was perfect. He bought it along with the things that actually had been on his list and headed for his chosen park.

Two days later, he brought the bed with him when he returned to the office. It was early yet, so no one saw him. He stuck it in the closet and went about his day. He didn’t give the bed another thought until the following week when he retuned from a meeting to see Kix and Jesse standing in his office. The bed was on the ground in front of them…as was one of Jesse’s Force-damned spying mouse droids. After the sweater incident, Rex had tasked his former scout with specially programming some mouse droids so that they would “keep an eye” on Cody. He didn’t realize the damn things were literally searching his office.

“For the record, the closet door was open. That’s how the droid saw it,” Jesse immediately defended, as if sensing Cody’ s thoughts. “They don’t go rummaging through your stuff.”

“I’m sure you have a perfectly reasonable explanation for this,” Kix interrupted without hesitation, gesturing at the bed by his feet.

Cody resisted the urge to scowl.

“I do,” he said brusquely.

Silence.

“Cody. Am I going to have to tell Rex about this?” Kix asked… _threatened._

“As if you weren’t going to already,” Cody countered.

“Actually, we weren’t. If you are willing to be reasonable and take this home today and it stays gone for the next week, we won’t mention it to Rex,” Jesse informed him.

Cody narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Rex’s boys _not_ immediately tattling on him? That was difficult to believe.

“Look, we understand all sides. As a medic, I don’t want you working yourself to exhaustion and spending too much time at work is not good either. But I also understand that you work a lot and sometimes you just need a quick break to refresh yourself and walking to your apartment is time you don’t want to give up. I don’t _like_ it, but I understand it. But we also know how much Rex worries about you,” Kix explained.

Cody sighed. Using Rex’s concerns was _cheating._

“Fine. I’ll take the damn thing home.”

“I knew you’d be reasonable.”

Jesse snorted. Kix elbowed his riduur in the side.

Result: Failed, found by a one of Jesse’s spying mouse droids before use

Pros: The other Shebse won’t find out

Cons: Jesse’s droids will be more diligent

Attempt 3: Inflatable Mattress

Going through all the applications they received was a long process and Cody wasn’t even involved in the first stage! He felt like he was getting no other work done. He was continually working until well after midnight. He had started bringing work home with him rather than staying at the office because he just didn’t want to walk home _that_ late.

Then the lamp in his bedroom died and he needed a new one. He _did not have time for that_.

He looked at the chrono. It was 1930, the earliest he’d been home in a month. Of _course,_ that was when the damn lamp would break. Fortunately, there was a shop relatively close that was always open. It was one of those places that had the basics of just about anything one could need. He wouldn’t have a lot of options, but at least he’d have a functional light until he could be bothered to get something better. He pulled his boots back on a headed to the store.

Cody picked the first lamp he found on the shelf. He also grabbed a few prepackaged meals since he was already there. He figured it would save him having to worry about cooking or ordering take out for a few days. He wandered the store for a few minutes trying to decide if there was anything else that he needed. That was when he saw them. Down the one aisle there was camping supplies. Among them were three sizes of inflatable mattresses. Cody smirked and threw one in his hovercart.

He hadn’t even made it to the checkout when the manager stopped him.

“I’m sorry, ‘Alor, but I can’t let you have the mattress. And... well…none of the other shops in the capital district will either. We’ve been told it would be detrimental to your health.”

Cody was furious, but he wasn’t going to take it out on the poor unfortunate vod who had to tell him this. He’d deal with his squadmates later.

“Fine,” he said, tone not harsh but also not friendly.

He handed over the mattress and continued towards the checkout with his lamp and food.

Result: Failed, karking Shebse managed to convince all the shop owners in the capital not to sell him an inflatable mattress

Pros: N/A

Cons: Everything

Intervention

“You need an assistant,” Ponds said bluntly. “Far too many things end up coming to you for final approval. I understand why. We have so much going on and so many departments are growing. We have new trade deals in the works and laws are being adapted or created and our defense forces are restructuring. We’re working on hiring outsiders. You need to know what’s going on. I get it. However. You don’t need to be directly doing things like approving large requisitions or signing off on the name of a new project. That’s what assistants are for, Kote.”

“I have a suggestion for one. Vaughn. He’s ready to get back to work and he has admin and logistics experience,” Rex said before Cody could argue.

Of _course,_ his vod’ika had a suggestion. He would have expected no less. He also was not surprised that the suggestion was one of Rex’s own.

“And he’s Star-Torrent so he would have no problem telling you and Bly both if he thought I was overworking,” Cody replied with an arched eyebrow.

“He’s qualified,” Bly added, ignoring Cody’s comment.

“I’ll think about it,” Cody said with a sigh.

He _never_ won arguments when they all ganged up on him like this, but he could often deflect or delay.

“Excellent. He can start next week,” Ponds said with a grin. “We’ll set up office space for him.”

“I said I’d think about it!”

“And thinking about it will show you how right we are,” Ponds replied innocently.

Cody took a deep breath and reminded himself that he did not want to strangle his squadmates…

Attempt 4: The Park (So Not Actually The Office)

A few days later during a frustrating afternoon, Cody decided to go for a walk. Not far from the admin building was a park. Since there was also a school not far away, it wasn’t surprising to see several dozen Littles running around the park enjoying the afternoon sunshine. He went over to the vode supervising and chatted for a few moments.

That’s when he was spotted by the playing children. They begged him to join in them in a game. He didn't have the heart to refuse them. After a round of nuna, nuna, convor, Cody found himself surprisingly relaxed. He chuckled when one of the little ones tucked up against his side and declared himself too tired to keep playing.

“I understand the feeling, ad’ika,” Cody said with a smile.

Within a few minutes, he found himself surrounded by other “tired” Littles. A few minutes after that, he found himself at the bottom of a pile of resting children. The sun was warm on his face. He decided it wouldn’t hurt to close his own eyes, just for a moment. He wasn’t the adult in charge after all…

Results: Nap achieved, sticking to the letter of the other Shebse’s desire while dancing all over the spirit

Pros: Nap achieved and time spent with the Littles

Cons: N/A

SWSWSWSWSWSWSW

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to RogueLadyVader for pointing out Ponds would be the one most likely to call Cody out on needing an assistant and to SailorSol for recommending Vaughn!
> 
> The mentioned outsiders hired for positions on Concord Dawn will be featured in an upcoming Soft Wars group project!


	3. Naps and Unexpected Vode

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More attempts and more unexpected news

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Widget and Gizmo belong to the amazing Project0506 and are used with permission. Likewise, Spite and Bore (who were mentioned back in chapter 1) are also Projie's. I spaced on giving credit for them. Oops!
> 
> Many thanks to Evilkillerpoptarts for betaing this chapter.
> 
> I promised pure shenanigans in this chapter.  
> It turned into 97% shenanigans, 2% plot and 1% angst.

CWCWCWCWCWCWCWCW

Two failures in a row and an “intervention” had Cody feeling petulant, despite his success in the park. He wanted to make a point. He was an adult. He was _Vod’alor._ If he wanted to take a nap in his own karking office on occasion, then by the Force he was going to do it. He understood and appreciated his brothers’ concern. Truly, he did. But he had known that their first years of freedom would require as much if not more work than what he had done during the war. It was something he had accepted; the Vode were worth it.

He accepted Vaughn as his assistant only because it was made clear that the younger clone was volunteering. Cody would have preferred one of his Ghosts, one of _his_ men, but he couldn’t ask that of them. Any one of them would do it if he asked, or even if he just made it known he needed help. That was why he couldn’t. They deserved to have their own lives and decide what they wanted for themselves. He didn’t want to get in the way because they felt _obligated._ So working with Vaughn would be fine. They would have to have ground rules about what it was acceptable for him to tell Rex and Bly, but they’d figure it out.

But he was still going to make his point.

Attempt 5: Inflatable Raft

The stores might not be willing to sell Cody an inflatable _mattress_ but those were hardly the only things that would serve a purpose. Cody considered his options carefully. This was meant to be ridiculous enough to make his point but still actually at least of some use to him.

An inflatable raft was an excellent solution. No reasonable person would make the assumption that he was buying it to nap in his office with, so it wasn’t part of the Shebse’s ban (and really, he would be disappointed in their lack of creativity if it didn’t work to his advantage). The young vod at the store didn’t even bat an eye when he bought it. He took it right to his office and then hid it in a loose ceiling tile, far out of the way of spying mouse droids. 

Several days later, after a faulty sensor set off the fire alarms in his building in the middle of the night leaving him too awake to fall back asleep until nearly dawn, Cody was tired. He locked the door, pulled the raft down from the ceiling and set an alarm. It was two and half hours until his next meeting, plenty of time for a quick nap. He set the raft up and was surprised at how comfortable it actually was. He fell asleep quickly.

He had _not_ anticipated being woken up only an hour later by karking _Doom._

“I’d claim to be surprised, but you’re a Shebse. I would be surprised by _nothing_ you do at this point,” Doom said with a long-suffering sigh.

Cody glared.

“My office door was locked.”

“Was it?” the other clone asked, feigning innocence.

Cody glared harder. “Was there a reason you barged into my office?”

Doom smirked, unrepentant. “I have an appointment.”

“Since when?”

“Since five minutes ago when your assistant made it for me.”

“I hate all of you.”

Vaughn wondered what all the commotion was about, so he checked on Cody and Doom. He promptly reported the raft to Rex and Bly.

Cody's comm dinged. 

_ Shebse Chat _

Rex: I have to admit, Codes, that was creative.

Ponds: I am Very Irritated. I am making my Very Irritated Face right now.

Cody: So your normal face?

Ponds: Now I’m Disappointed too.

Wolffe: But not even remotely surprised.

Cody: Have I made my point?

Ponds: We’re not done talking about this.

Cody supposed he should have expected that.

Result: Partial Success

Pro: Got to be smug because of the pure ridiculousness of it

Cons: Nap interrupted by _Doom_ of all people

Attempt 6: The Office Couch

The chairs at the table were fine for short meetings, but they were not comfortable. Plus, not every meeting he had needed that much formality. So, Cody decided his office needed a couch. He picked one that was nice and comfortable, but not fancy. Honestly, it was nicer than the one at his apartment.

He got a disapproving eyebrow for it from Vaughn, but to his surprise the younger clone didn’t actually say anything.

Surprisingly, that lasted for a tenday.

Cody had been working on forms and approvals for several hours already when he decided to move to the couch to be more comfortable. No reason to be uncomfortable while doing endless paperwork. Sometime during the fourth report on how early crop yields were looking, he started feeling tired. He had no remaining meetings that day, so he decided he could close his eyes for a bit and rest before continuing with the never-ending stack of datapads.

He’d been napping less than forty-five minutes when the rest of the Shebse showed up in his office. He assumed Vaughn saw him and ratted him out.

“Really, Kote?” Ponds asked, radiating disapproval.

“Look me in the eye and tell me you have never fallen asleep because of forms,” Cody challenged.

Ponds frowned. “That’s beside the point.”

Cody raised a challenging eyebrow.

“This couch does not stay here. If you want to keep it, it goes to your apartment. It remaining here will do nothing but encourage your bad habits!” Ponds declared. 

“It’s my office. I want a couch for informal meetings,” Cody countered.

“So, we create a nice new meeting space down the hall!” Ponds argued. 

“Down the hall isn’t in my office, is it?” Cody fired back.

“How about a small couch that would be ok for meetings, but too small for sleeping on?” Bly suggested, ever the reasonable one. 

“Sounds like a good compromise to me,” Rex chimed in.

“I can’t believe we’re sitting here arguing about a _karking couch_ ,” Wolffe grumbled. 

“A small, _uncomfortable_ couch might be acceptable,” Ponds reluctantly agreed.

“So glad I have your blessing for _my_ office furniture,” Cody snarked. 

Cody supposed that was better than nothing. He’d go searching for a…new old couch later.

“Well, we _had_ been coming to see if you wanted to join us for a snack break. Now I’m wondering if we should just drag you back to your apartment instead,” Ponds said frowning. 

Ok, so it wasn’t Vaughn’s fault they found him. Good.

“I could use some caf and a snack,” Cody conceded.

A week later, Cody had to admit that the new meeting space down the hall _was_ nice. Even if there was a mouse droid stationed in it at all hours programmed to squeak irritatingly at him if he even looked like he was _thinking_ about laying down on one of the couches.

Results: Mixed

Pro: Comfortable Meeting Space down the hall for informal meetings

Cons: No more comfortable couch, new one is very Not Comfortable

The Unplanned Nap

Cody thought being Obi-Wan’s Commander had required a lot of formwork. Somehow, despite letting his brothers talk him into an assistant, being Vod’alor seemed to require _more_ of it than being a Marshall Commander had. He hadn’t thought that was _possible._

He sent Vaughn home at a reasonable hour. The younger clone had Neyo at home waiting for him. Cody didn’t mind staying later; it’s not like Obi-Wan was at the apartment waiting for _him_. Three weeks into the job, Vaughn started saying Cody needed an entire _staff,_ not just an assistant. At that particular moment…Cody wondered if he was right. He put his head in his hands for a long moment and took several deep breaths. There were at least six more reports he had to review that night, or the projects would be delayed. Maybe his brothers were right; maybe he could step back from some of this. The heads of the various offices knew more about what their people were doing than he did. If they approved, did it really need to come to him for approval too? Something to bring up at the next Council meeting.

He dozed off between one moment and the next.

Only to be startled awake by a ruckus outside of his office door that was so sudden and loud it startled him right out of his chair. A split second later, Widget and Gizmo came flying through the small opening on the wall that had been installed just for them. When Cody saw the familiar hat and goggles in their little droid clutches, he flopped back onto the floor and threw an arm over his face. He did _not_ have the energy required to deal with Hondo Ohnaka at…he checked his wrist chrono…one thirty in the morning.

The door opened and Hondo burst in.

Cody kept quiet, hoping that Hondo would assume he was asleep and _leave_.

“What is my friend the Vod’alor doing on the floor? Is he alright? What did you two do to him, hmm?” The Weequay asked the droids.

Widget and Gizmo hovered near Cody’s head.

“His chair is knocked back…did you two knock him out of his chair? Did he hit his head?” Hondo asked, sounding rather alarmed.

So much for hoping the pirate would go away.

“I’m _fine_ ,” Cody said, though he did not move his arm.

“Vod’alor! Is this a new habit, sleeping on your office floor?” Hondo asked, gesticulating wildly at the floor.

“I was sleeping in my chair,” the clone admitted.

The Weequay frowned. “That does not sound comfortable.”

“It wasn’t,” Cody allowed. “Why are you here? It’s the middle of the night.”

“It’s always midday on Florrum!” Hondo exclaimed. “Also, I liberated another ship from some slavers. There were three clones among the slaves. I thought you’d like them back.”

Cody was wide awake. That news was well worth being startled out of his chair.

Results: Uncomfortable nap & sudden wake up, interruption worthwhile

Pro: Nap disruption was news of lost Vode being brought home

Cons: The office floors make for a hard landing when startled out of a chair

CWCWCWCWCWCWCWCW


	4. The Compromise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A compromise is finally reached.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to Evilkillerpoptarts and Shira for betaing!
> 
> Many thanks to AwkwardDuckProducktions for letting me borrow Knockout!
> 
> To all who celebrate, hope you had a Merry Christmas.  
> To everyone else, I hope you had a great day!

CWCWCWCWCWCW

Things stayed steady for some time. Vaughn continued to insist Cody needed an entire staff. Most days Cody was sure that was an exaggeration, though on a few late nights he continued to debate the merits of the idea. He added spending regular time with the Littles to his schedule and it made him happier. Their joy and innocence soothed his soul. 

The Vode continued to settle. The first anniversary of Oya Vode came and with it a great celebration. He hadn’t expected Obi-Wan to be there. Getting to see his beloved again after a _year_ had been wonderful. Rex and his Torrents leaving soon after…had been less so. It had been easy to get used to his brothers all being close by once more. But he didn’t say anything. They had to be free to choose their new lives for themselves. He didn’t want them to worry about him. He thought he had everything well enough in hand. Then a few simple words from some Littles had shattered the delusion. Their innocent words showed he was still struggling. His brothers had convinced him to give up day to day control of their defenses. It took nearly a week and a great deal of debate, but Davijaan was offered the job. To Cody’s surprise, the other man accepted it on the spot.

Cody had expected that to be the end of it.

He really should have known better.

Then again, maybe if he hadn’t fallen asleep in his office again two days later, it would have been.

The Discussion

“I had honestly hoped Vaughn was exaggerating when he said there was so much work, he felt two to three more assistants was necessary. Having actually looked at all of this for the first time…I realize he’s not,” Bly said, voice heavy with disapproval. “Why the kriff did you think you had to do all of this by yourself? Vaughn’s right. You need a staff. Honestly, I’m surprised Padme and Bail haven’t said something on the issue. Padme had a staff even as a Senator, let alone when she was Queen.” 

“It’s a lot but I was managing!” Cody disagreed.

“You are a planetary leader. We need you to look like one to the outside,” Wolffe said bluntly. 

Cody sagged in his seat. Intellectually, he knew that Wolffe made a solid point. The Vode needed to look strong to the outside. A leader who didn’t seem to know what he was _doing_ as a planetary leader wouldn’t help them in the slightest.

“And you can cut that osik out right now. You are a good leader. You just need to remember that even you have limits,” Wolffe said, cutting directly through Cody’s line of thought. 

His squadmates always knew.

“About Padme and Bail…” Rex chimed in.

He was still on Coruscant, so he was there via holocomm.

Cody raised an eyebrow.

“I quietly discussed the situation with them,” the blond said. “Asked some questions about how they divide work amongst their staffers.”

Of course, he did.

“And?” Cody asked with a sigh.

“Bail recommended a structure with one person, in this case most likely to be Vaughn, with a title of Executive or Chief or Head Assistant. Then others either just called assistants or admins with duties broken out by skill set. Padme agreed; said her Senatorial staff had her bodyguards, a research assistant, a personal assistant and her handmaidens,” Rex explained.

“The first person to recommend I get handmaidens is getting punched,” Cody said immediately.

He had a great deal of respect for all of Padme’s handmaidens, but he did _not_ need his own.

“Well, technically you have over a million people who could play body double for you,” Ponds offered with a grin.

Cody’s squadmates were The Worst.

“I’m sure you have suggestions,” Cody said to Rex, ignoring Ponds entirely.

“I talked to Waxer and Boil,” Rex admitted, totally unrepentant. “You have a couple of volunteers. Your Ghosts are not pleased you didn’t ask them for help.”

Wonderful. That was going to require soothing some hurt feelings.

“And don’t you dare say you didn’t ask because you didn’t want them to feel pressured!” Ponds exclaimed. 

It was the _truth_. He really didn’t understand why his brothers didn’t understand that. Most of Rex’s Torrents _wanted_ to stay with him or stay together. It's why so many flocked to the creation of Torrent Security. Cody wasn’t about to assume the same was true of his Ghosts, and he didn’t want a single one of them to feel like they _had_ to stay with him just because he was their leader.

“Every single one of them would drop everything if I asked it,” Cody said. “Which is why all nine of the Corellian hells would freeze over before I ever did.”

Ponds’ sigh was long suffering, but there was understanding in Wolffe’s eyes.

“I can give you the list of volunteers and you can talk to them personally,” Rex offered.

“Fine,” Cody said with a sigh.

“Excellent. Next on the agenda!” Ponds declared with a gleeful smile.

That smile never meant anything good.

“You fell asleep in your office again,” Bly said, voice full of disappointment.

“I’m honestly shocked you were able to fall asleep on that uncomfortable thing you call an office couch,” Rex added.

“We’re still formalizing some things with Oddball. It’s been a long week,” Cody said with a frown. “It wasn’t intentional.”

Ponds’ voice was full of almost paternal disappointment. “We’ve had this conversation multiple times.” 

“I’m an _adult._ As you have all pointed out, I’m also a karking planetary leader. I’m plenty capable of making decisions myself. If I decide I’m tired and want a nap, I damn well can take one. If I decide I don’t want to go all the way back to my apartment first because that means losing time, I’m fully capable of making that choice,” Cody snapped.

He was tired of them treating him like a child over this.

“You slept in your office for _months_ ,” Ponds shot back. 

“I want you to take care of yourself,” Rex said quietly.

Cody took a deep breath. Ponds’ irritation was something he could ignore; Rex’s worry was a different story. He’d always been more susceptible to that. Being argumentative wouldn’t resolve this and it needed to be fully resolved once and for all. 

“I am. I take several hours out each week to spend with the Littles. You just talked me into giving up a huge area of work. I’ve agreed to expand my staff.”

“And that’s all good.”

Bly, ever the practical, reasonable one.

“A compromise then,” Wolffe said, with his usual eye roll that was really more of a whole head roll.

“What’s your suggestion?” Ponds asked dubiously.

Wolffe snorted at the tone.

“They make those chairs that can be reclined back. Or the ones that fold out so a person can be lying flat. He gets to have one of them in here. He can use it. But there’s a set time limit,” Wolffe suggested. “Unless there’s an emergency going on where he needs to be here but needs to rest.” 

That was…not a terrible idea.

“I’m amenable to that,” Cody said.

Ponds looked ready to argue, but Bly cut him off.

“It’s reasonable and a good compromise. You reverting back to sleeping here rather than going home isn’t acceptable for a number of reasons. But sometimes you just need a bit of rest and that’s understandable.”

Ponds frowned heavily. “I…suppose.”

“I’m choosing the chair,” Cody said, before anyone could go getting any _ideas_ about that.

Ponds’ answering sigh was incredibly long-suffering. “You’re going to pick an ugly one.”

“No. I’m just going to pick one that isn’t going to blind me.”

The Compromise

Cody selected a very comfortable chair that folded out into a relatively comfortable bed. Jesse’s mouse droids patrolled the building as it was, so their programming was updated. If they caught Cody sleeping three rounds in a row, Spite and Bore would be notified. The droids' patrol route took exactly twenty-one and a half minutes (Cody had timed it more than once primarily for spite purposes), so if he timed it properly, he could get an hour of sleep before the medics would be notified. If he needed more sleep than that, he would go back to his apartment. Or at least be prepared to give the medics a good reason for why he needed to stay at work but still take a nap. The exception would be in cases of emergencies. Those weren’t strictly defined, but the others were trusting Cody not to abuse the exception.

As for his staff, Cody agreed to two additional assistants. He talked to a number of his Ghosts before making his decision. He had to be sure the ones he hired weren’t doing it out of a sense of duty to him.

Wooley had plenty to say.

“Waxer and Boil told us we were only allowed to be minorly irritated with you for not asking for help sooner. Waxer said that since he’s on your council, he can express more displeasure than the rest of us at your poor choices.”

He then explained all of the things he had tried since OV and how this was something he genuinely _wanted_ to do.

Cody agreed to hire Wooley. He only minorly regretted it when Vaughn declared, in his “Official Capacity as Executive Assistant”, that Wooley would be “The Official Vod’alor Wrangler”. Naturally, the rest of Ghost and the other Shebse found it _hilarious._ Cody would go to his grave before he would admit that on Wooley’s second day, the younger clone got him to take a break for midmeal via Strategic Use of Weaponized Sad Tooka Eyes. How a skilled former soldier like Wooley still managed such excellent Sad Tooka Eyes, Cody would never understand. And he was already regretting how frequently they would be used against him.

He also hired Knockout, a former medic from the 212th. Knockout was blunt and no nonsense. He was perfect for keeping Cody’s schedule and liaising with the medical services office and their emergency response division. 

Cody and his staff carefully went over his normal workload. There were things Cody didn’t want to give up or didn’t feel comfortable giving up, while others he was glad to hand over to an assistant. They figured it out.

The first week that Cody was home by 1900 more than twice, he was shocked. The second time, he realized he should have given in and hired a staff sooner.

The third…he decided he really hated his apartment.

CWCWCWCWCWCW

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cody starts spending more time with the Littles in: [Worth Every Challenge](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25010713)
> 
> The events Cody references with the Littles takes place in: [A Question of Time](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26076802)
> 
> Obi-Wan visting CD for OV will be in a later part of this fic by Evilkillerpoptarts: [Five Times the Vod'Alor Wanted to Shoot Hondo (And One Time He Couldn't Be Bothered](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25027273/chapters/60608116)


End file.
